Colin Montgomerie has withdrawn from the UBS Hong Kong Open, the European Tour website announced at the start of the second round. Monty opened up with a 74 (+4) in the first round. According to multiple sources, he was suffering with a foot injury and has returned home to Scotland. According to multiple sources, he was suffering with a foot injury and has returned home to Scotland. On a course that measures only 6,700-odd yards, Hong Kong Golf Club is a course in which Monty has won (2005) and it is one of the few that suits him. So I know it must've been hard for him to withdraw, but he's got to take the safe option and get fully fit for next season.
It's incredibly frustrating to see him have to withdraw from a tournament that he loves and that he can do well at; even though he was +4, I still thought that he would fire a low round and make the cut, maybe even get back into contention. This isn't the first event that he has failed to complete; he has even withdrawn from or taken his entry out of the following tournaments this season: Trophee Hassan II, KLM Open, BMW Italian Open, Portugal Masters, and now the UBS Hong Kong Open.
His withdrawal has kind of taken the wind out of my sails, unfortunately. As he gets closer and closer to the age of 50, every tournament that he enters, for me, means that much more. He is exempt on the main Tour until 2015, and will continue to play past 50, but who knows what his playing ability will be then. To be honest, outside of his tied-6th finish at the Johnnie Walker Championship, this may have been his worst season on Tour. His best finish in a stroke play event was tied-44th in Germany. His putting really let him down all season and that's something that he really needs to work on in the offseason (from now until the Volvo Golf Champions in the early part of January).
As I have stated in other articles, I would've preferred him to play in one of the early-season South African events in December (but part of the 2013 schedule) before the Volvo Golf Champions, but the chances of him doing that are slim. He'll hopefully play four events in a row to start his 2013 campaign (Volvo Golf Champions, Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, Commercialbank Qatar Masters, and Omega Dubai Desert Classic). I have long thought that if he could get his putting under control, he could get back into the world's top-30 or higher. With the way that he hits the ball, he's a top-10 ballstriker on Tour. If he really dedicates himself to working on his putting and short game, this season will become a distant memory.
Unfortunately, his world ranking, currently at 495th, will drift way past 500 before he tees it up again. However, four good finishes in the four HUGE tournaments with lots of world ranking points and prize money will vault him up the world rankings and Race to Dubai. He needs to play his best golf in these big tournaments. Obviously, he will participate in the US Open and Open Championship qualifiers when they come around (assuming he's not exempt due to world ranking or R2D ranking). He hasn't played in a Major since the PGA in 2010, so it's been too long. He was well-placed in both qualifiers after the first 18 holes this year, but faded on the next 18. Let's hope he doesn't have to qualify because he'll be inside the top-50 in the world (or the top-20 in the R2D after the BMW PGA for a place in the Open)!
As I finish this entry and close the book on what has been a very frustrating year for all Montgomerie fans, we can only look ahead to next year. I'm obviously excited for the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, next week which comprises of the top-60 in the Race to Dubai, but I'm already looking ahead to the Volvo Golf Champions, the first event of 2013. I'll still watch the South African events (two in December to the begin the 2013 schedule), but I'll always be looking ahead to the second week of January.
Another important thing to note is that, at next week's Tour finale, the entire 2013 European Tour schedule will be released. I'm particularly interested in the "European" portion of the schedule (if there are any new events) because I don't want to see the Tour becoming less and less of a "European" Tour due to the financial situation in Europe.
So, there are many questions to be answered between now and January 10th (start of the Volvo Golf Champions). I'll post any updates as to why Monty withdrew from the UBS Hong Kong Open or any articles pertaining to him from now until the 10th. I think we all know that Monty can compete with the best players in the world, it's just a matter if he actually believes it. Let's hope the first four tournaments of 2013 are a springboard to a memorable season!
